I can’t help with the tech stuff Shane as I’ve not invested any time in it yet but I thought your rendition was great. Being overly picky with yourself, the playing and singing were top notch. Noice!
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Hi Shane,
That sounded good, tight guitar work and nice singing…applause… 
…
and that guitar looks beautiful too, it shines off the screen… 
I’ve had a scarlett4i4 here for a while that is busy collecting dust…I still don’t feel like playing a to find out a computer … and then first ask David for the specifications because I forgot that again and I find that looking up even more annoying work … so he will / can help you with all your tech anyway questions…and there are many more around here…patience
Greetings…
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Thanks for the feedback Gordon. Yeah you’re right, the signal likely needs a bit if EQing, etc, given its pretty much unprocessed. Re the backing track, I’ve found the ones from Karaoke UK, which you have to pay for, are some of the best around. Its probably the mix in general that needs a bit of punch.
Cheers, Shane
Thanks for the feedback JK.
Yeah, have been looking into how to feed the audio separately into OBS. Not sure how yet, but you’re right, it would give more control post processing. Maybe someone here will have some ideas.
Cheers, Shane
Shane what mighty big, marvellous steps you are taking. Congrats on biting into the tech stuff with such success. Your playing is clean and rocks along nice and steady. It’s in your voice I hear the greatest leap. Your new set up is picking up tones and textures in your voice I haven’t heard before and I like what I’m hearing a lot. I can’t offer any useful comments about the tech, sorry.
Really impressed with you mate. Oh I sound so ocker, 
Hi Shane that was great, really great performance and I enjoyed it a lot. No nits from me perhaps a BT when you play a little riff could have been bit more in the background but other than that no nits from me!
Tech wise I am team JK here, recording video separately to audio (I record video with a phone, sound to DAW and then compiling both together in a video editor). That gives you a lot of possibilities to fiddle around with.
I remember in OBS you can set your AID as Asio device but I cant remember if you can sort of set up as two devices with one being input 1 from AI and second being input 2. I guess it is probably doable but I recommend looking into Majik’s posts regarding OBS if you want to stick with it. Ignore the Zoom bit for now and everything else stays the same.
As for my taste fx wise (and I am no expert just my personal opinion) is perhaps a small amount of reverb here and there, playing around with EQ to get even sweeter sound and then perhaps sorting out track volume envelope to slightly volume down this louder BT section during the riff I mentioned earlier. Again this is more of a personal thing, I still think you did great and really all those changes are supplementary only!
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Thanks Maggie. Very kind words and much appreciated. Yes, I’m pretty happy with how the voice is coming along. If I can loosen up a bit more, that’ll see some further progress I imagine. Might try playing standing up on the next one.
All the Best.
Cheers, Shane
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Thanks Adrian for the feedback, and especially the tech tips. I think I’ve found a fairly simple way of splitting the tracks going into OBS, in the Advanced settings. (at least conceptually).
I dont yet though have the guitar/vocals/ mic set as separate inputs into OBS, or even if I need to do that. They are all just coming in as one input via the master track in Reaper, using Reastream. On this production I was also manually triggering the backing track (which is loaded in Reaper), so will have to figure out a better way of doing this. Doing lots of research, but finding there’s a fair amount of misinformation on the web around these topics.
Basically, I’d like to have multiple, separate tracks coming in to OBS (guitar/vocals/backing track combos) then record video/audio in OBS, then do any final editing in Da Vinci Resolve or similar. Then at some point down the road, it should be a smooth transition to route this all to Zoom for OMs, and to any other streaming service. At this point, this seems a tidy way to do it. Big learning curve ahead, but thanks very much for your input.
Cheers, Shane
I think the key in what @adi_mrok and I do is that you just skip OBS. I record video with my webcam software. OBS is mainly for streaming, not mixing.
Yes you could actually record with OBS too, but do the connecting of audio to video separately in your video editor ( e.g. DaVinci Resolve as you say - I haven’t used that but I heard it was hard, I used to use an old version of Adobe Premiere Elements but just switched to Cyberlink PowerDirector).
It allows you to do some pretty neat things.
Here’s a screenshot of my DAW (Ableton) and my setup for what I just recorded, When I Come Around:
For the song I recorded, the guitar part I was playing actually starts first, before the backing track, so I needed a count-in to play on time. So I set the tempo of the song (circled up to left), moved the BT forward 4 bars and aligned it to the time signature, then added some wood-block noises for a 4 count (circled in the middle). DAW can also count-in but I found this suited me better.
You’ll also see I recorded one vocal track, hated it because I sang badly, and it had acoustic sound leak from my electric guitar’s strings. So I muted that and recorded a new track. I also could adjust volume of each track in the mix after I’d recorded, recorded a second track and panned guitars left & right, boosted vocal volume (but not enough). Can add reverb in post, etc etc.
Then you export the audio from DAW, add audio from DAW & video from what have you (phone/OBS/webcam recorder/cam) to the video editor. Sync the audio & video tracks. Then mute the audio track that the cam recorded, because it will be rubbish. Add some video effects if you like. And hey presto it’s done.
That was fabulous, Shane. You nailed the guitar part. I liked the tone for the song, cord work was clean and your rhythm is just so steady and relaxed. The singing with the mic sounded so good.
I liked it when you allowed the piano to play the riff and you strummed the cord. Alternative would be to follow Adrian’s suggestion and edit the BT to lower the volume in that part to allow you the space to play it.
From a mix perspective, I liked the guitar vocal balance. And that may be most important, depending on your aims in making the recording. From an overall perspective, I the sound of the BT was a bit up and down for me. There were moments when I thought it all sounded great and others were the backing was either too loud or too soft. I should add I was listening through my mid-fi buds, so better than phone or laptop speakers but not mixing quality.
My 2cs on recording approach.
I like using OBS in a situation where there is going to be no audio post-processing. I do have the benefit of using my Play Acoustic pedal, so guitar and vocal run through that so there is some fx added going in. Then I setup OBS to source audio from my 2i2. Video and audio are adequately in sync. I know from another conversation here, that one can add some audio timing adjustments in OBS (Advanced Audio settings) if the processing of the webcam and the audio are not in sync in the recording. I still add a title and credits in a video editor after trimming the start and end of the video.
I’m not using a BT in those videos. If I was then I would add the BT as another audio source in OBS. That could be a simple music player, YT, or Reaper, depending on the nature of the BT. This gets a bit tricky to get everything in sync, specifically how you hear the BT as you play. I struggled a bit with this when I produced my Simple Blues Lead project in which I played rhythm parts and lead.
For these BTs produced by downloading individual tracks from a site, you’d be able to setup the individual tracks so the mix was right for you to play over. Once all was set up right for BT, guitar, and vocal then record in OBS. I think that would work fine.
If wanting to record video and audio separately, as others have suggested, then I would suggest adding some very clear sounds at the start to use to sync to. Three loud hand claps with silence between would work. You can then use those to sync the audio from the DAW with the audio on the video in the editor. You can do that visually and with ears, assuming your editor doesn’t have the ability to do it automatically (mine does though it is finicky).
So I think a lot depends on the situation. A simple acoustic play and sing, do in OBS. A mixed multi-track perhaps better to do separately so you can mix the audio after and marry with the video. For Open Mics in Zoom, OBS to integrate video and audio and stream to Zoom has worked for me.
As for fx, generally speaking people say the first thing to work with is EQ. I have found EQ quite tricky to master. Finding the frequencies to boost and cut, getting the settings right to adjust the effect, not as easy as it sounds. I’ve often started with a preset and then adjusted that, rather than a flat line.
Then as Adrian suggested perhaps just a little reverb and delay on the guitar, not to be super obvious, can help create a fuller, bigger tone.
Once again, you have made great strides here. It was a good performance and production, lots to be pleased about. Look forward to the next.
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Thanks JK for some detailed info on your setup. I appreciate the time you’ve spent posting this. Great to see the details.
I pretty much do the same thing in my DAW, including loading the backing track with a one bar count in.
All this feeds into OBS, presently all as one stream with the guitar and vocals. My next job is to setup OBS so it separates all the audio streams as they come into OBS (guitar vocals,backing track). If I need to do some additional post mixing, I should be able to get them from the OBS initial recording, load them in my DAW, and adjust as necessary. Then over write the originals, and all should be done audiowise. Can then edit the video in OBS/Davinci if necessary ( add fades ins, overlays etc).
The reason I’m liking this approach is its only one more step to streaming to Zoom etc, with the caveat the the mix will obviously have to be sorted before going live.
I imagine I’d eventually be able to create a basic template like structure, one for recording, and one for streaming, so theres no ongoing setting up of these things.
Thanks again JK. From my research so far, there seems to be many ways to do this, depending on situation,/ gear etc. All a learning curve at the moment, but a lot if fun, ( and a little bit if swearing😜).
Cheers, Shane
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Hi David,
Thanks for feedback on the performance. Getting an overall tick from you re mixing levels lets me know I’m at least in the right ballpark. 
Many thanks David for your insightful reply on all the tech stuff. A great overview of the whole production process, for differing situations.
I suppose my ultimate aim is to set up Reaper,OBS, Davinci, Zoom to cover all the bases for both recording locally, and streaming, whether it be electric, acoustic, singing/instrumental, backing track combos etc, using some sort of template method.
This way, I hopefully wont be fiddling around everytime I want to do something. At present there’s a lot of fiddling, expected at this early stage, but my innate need for structure and consistency wont cop it in the long term 
.
One question if you dont mind. I’ve never really understood the rationale behind recording the video/audio ‘separately’, then have to synch them up. If you can record them together, say in OBS or similar, with each audio track also outputted as a distinct track, then any post processing can be applied to any of these audio streams in a DAW etc, without the additional step of having to synch it with the video. I’m obviously missing some basic premise here.
Many thanks again David.
Cheers Shane
My pleasure, Shane, we’re all here to support, share and learn from each other.
I think the rationale for the separate audio and video recording is firstly to enable post processing on each track after recording. As far as I know if you record in OBS your output will be a mixed audio in the video. That may serve your purpose.
You can add some fx in OBS using the filters and adjust the levels of each source to balance the mix. But there’ll be little you can do after recording if the mix is not what you want.
Some may also find it easier to record the audio in the DAW and add to the video afterwards. And following that approach you will be able to mix the tracks after recording.
I think there are pros and cons plus different people will find different approaches easier to work with.
Don’t think you are necessarily missing anything significant.
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Great job, enjoyed it. Thought the strumming and chords were good. Vocals sounded good, didn’t sound held back to me. Can’t help with the tech stuff, way beyond me.
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That was great Shane well done.
Really enjoyed it. Lots of talk on the mix and mixing and yes some tweaks would raise the levels a little but it sounded quite fine through my PC speakers, which always differ greatly to my Shure cans.
For what its worth, I record into Reaper and the pass the Audio to OBS (ReaRoute) for the Video. I always add a 4 beat intro, either drum or click track. I then take the video and add that to the Reaper mix. Align the intro beats as they stand out clearly in the audio waveform on the video, then everything is in sync. I can then mix the track with the video track audio set to zero. I then render to MP4 in Reaper once the mix and mastering is complete. Playback through a number of devices, remix accordingly, then put it all to bed once its up on YT. Hope that helps.
Cheers
Toby
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Hi Shane, I enjoyed your performance very much. Nothing to say about the technical aspects, because that’s all new ground for me. I’m only a beginner, doing my first approach to this fantastic song and not an expert at all, but I think you’re doing really fine. I think you have a great basis with your voice, which sounds very pleasant to me, you should absolutely take advantage to have a good sounding voice. And: I think you can be much more confident about your singing and playing. This is such a powerful song. Give it some extra spice, I’m sure you can 
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Hey Toby,
Thanks for the feedback mate. Much appreciated.
And a BIG thanks for your recording/ mixing method. Ive watched alot of videos and read alot of stuff in the last week or so. I think I’ve been over-complicating things, and absorbing too much crap online. (besides this community of course).
Your two parargraphs have suddenly made it all very clear. No more obsessing over ‘OBS multitrack audio outputs’, as i dont even need it. Seems so obvious now, I could kick myself. Some minor details I’ll need to get across, but will have a crack at it tomorrow morning and see how it goes.
UPDATE: Recording method all working sweet as now, using Rearoute, importing video back to Reaper, then synching/ processing from there. You’re a legend Toby. Can’t believe I was making it so complicated. Now I need to learn how to stop wandering away from the mic while playing/ singing while standing up. 
Cheers, Shane.
Great song, the playing was tight, thanks for sharing!
The confidence with singing comes once you start believing in it.
Thanks John for the kind feedback.
You’re right there about the singing too.
Cheers, Shane.
Glad to have helped Shane. I guess the use of a DAW and OBS is a relative new thing, so the more we share our experiences the more folks learn. Pretty much how I developed my limited Reaper skills from some old stalwarts on the original forum. Finding that I could not only drop a video into Reaper and also render the video with the mixed audio tracks was a god send. I had wasted countless hours on project, pushing sound files into a video editor and trying to stitch it together there 
But the most important thing is that click track or drum count-in. The waveform is so distinctive, it makes lining every thing a doddle. Like most things in life, the more you do something the easier it gets.